Apparatus for manufacturing porcelain enamel and glass



Alle l5, 1939- G. H. MCINTYRE Er AL 2,169,611

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING PORCELAIN ENAMEL AND GLASS Filed May 2o, l1935 2 sheetsfsheet `1 u s.' I jing *L11/J ATTORNEYS Aug 15, 1939 G. H. `MelNTYRE ET Ax. v 2,169,611

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING PORCELAIN ENAMEL AND GLASS Filed May 20, 1935 2 4Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 15, 1939 PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING POR- CELAIN ENAMEL AND GLASS Glenn H. McIntyre, Cleveland Heights, and

George R. Sylvester, Shaker Heights, signors to Ferro Enamel Corporation,

Ohio, as- Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application May 20, 1935, Serial No. 22,412

4 Claims.

This invention relates as indicated to po-rce- /lain enamel'manufacture and more particularly to that stage of the manufacture of porcelain enamel wherein the enamel in its molten condition resulting from a melting together ofthe usual constituents forming the ultimate composition are subjected to a ning or rening action before being fritted, i. e., discharged into a bath of Water and subsequently ground to provide the enamel slip which is applied to the article to be enameled, such as by dipping, brushing, spraying, etc. -1

The use of so-called ning chambers in the glass industry generally, is old and their function relatively well known. In order to somewhat more fully comprehend the nature of the improvements comprising the present invention, it is believed well to rst briefly summarize the purposes for which this ning operation is carried on in both the plain glass and vitreous or porcelain enamel fields in order that the problems solved by the present invention may be somewhat more fully appreciated.

In the manufacture of clear glass, in which transparency of the finished product is the principal requisite thereof, it is essential that the molten materials from which the clear glass articles are ultimately formed be absolutely free from any undissolved or suspended material which, if included in the finished article, would result in an inferior product.

Ithas been common practice, therefore, in the ining or rening of the glass when in its molten condition to cause the same to ilow at a rela-V tively slow rate through an elongated fining chamber which is provided with a bridge wall extending transversely of the direction of iiow and extending below the surface of the bath. The clear glass, when rst discharged into the fining chamber, usually contains what is generally termed as seedsffor the elimination of which the fining chamber is provided, as above described. These seeds are usually minute particles of lunmelted material such as feldspar, silica, etc. and the bath usually contains air bubdifferent from that just described in connectionD with the manufacture of clear glass and in certain respects it may be said that the function of the ning chamber in the manufacture of porcelain enamel is directly opposite to the function of the ning chamber in the manufacture of clear glass.

Porcelain enamel may be generally dened as a composition which includes usually a sodiumboro-silicate glass matrix in which are held in uniformly distributed suspension the opacifying compounds which are usually undissolved compounds such as sodium fluoride, compounds of antimony, etc. If the molten bath of the material to be used as a porcelain enamel were passed through a fining chamber of the character used in the manufacture of clear glass, as previously described, the effect of the bridge Wall generally employed would be to separate out from and/or dissolve into the clear glass matrix those components which are essential in porcelain enamel to lend opacity thereto.

The function of the lining chamber in the manufacture of porcelain enamel is, therefore, not to separate out the crystalline or undissolved components such as the opacifying agents but to insure that the same will be evenly distributed throughout the entire bath so that the resultant product may have uniform characteristics` such as opacity, etc. y

At the present time practically all porcelain enamel material used in the production of enamel rit are melted by the batch process, i. e., a predetermined quantity of properly blended raw materials is deposited on the hearth of the furnace and then subjected to a sufficient degree of heat to rst reduce the raw material to a molten condition and thereafter maintain the same at a sulciently elevated temperature for a suiiicient interval of time to effect a refining or ning of the bath, i. e., to insure a uniform distribution throughout the bath of the suspended opacifying constituents.

Prior art practices have, it is believed, conclusively shown that the] best manner in which a bath of porcelain enamel materials may be properly fined is by maintaining the same in a substantially quiescent state for a suiiicient period of time and at the proper temperature in order that the bath may be rendered homogeneous.

It is for this latter reason that no process for the continuous melting of porcelain enamel materials has found commercial acceptance to replace the batch process previously defined.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the annexed drawings and the following description setting Y forth in detail certain means and one mode of carrying out the invention, such disclosed means and mode illustrating, however, but one of various ways in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings:

Fig. l is a transverse sectional view through an apparatus constructed in accordance with the principles of our invention and capable of carrying on the process comprising our invention; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1 taken on a vertical plane extending at an angle to the plane of section of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a horl' zontal sectional view of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. l taken on planes respectively indicated by the lines 3-3; Fig. 4 vis a representation of a modified form of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic represem prising this invention may be practiced may be generally divided into the following component elements, i. e.the melting or smelting chamber I, the lining apparatus 2, and the fritting apparatus 3.

The present invention, since it pertains to the flning apparatus such as is generally indicated at 2 and its associated fritting apparatus, generally indicated at 3, is adaptable for use in conjunction with any suitable type of melting or smelting unit I,`i. e., the form of construction and operation of the melting unit I forms no part of this invention, only in that the method and apparatus presently to be lexplained as comprising this invention is designed particularly for use with smelting apparatus which operates on the continuous principle, i.- e., is capable of discharging a continuous stream of melted enamel materials. 4

The smelting unit may, therefore, be of any suitable construction such as for example, that illustrated in U. S. Patent No. 1,963,910 issued to Glenn H. McIntyre and Robert Stuart on I0 likewise substantially U-shaped in cross-sec-A tion. The` shell I8 or more particularly the hearth'supported thereby is centrally reinforced by means of a plurality of annular rings I I and the lower framework supporting the hearth I0 has a spider I2 secured thereto, which spider is mounted on a shaft I3 carried by a bearing I4.

The hearth assembly 8 may be rotated on the trucksl or more particularly the tracks 5 and 6 about the axis of the shaft I3 by means of a drive chain I5 trained about a sprocket I6 carried by the hearth assembly and a driving sprocket II which may be driven by means of a suitable power unit such as I8.

As previously indicated, the refractory lining 9 of the hearth assembly 8 provides an annular 'flning chamber I9 and the bottom 2|) of such chamber is, at a plurality of equally spaced points elevated as at 2| above the normal level of the hearth bottom 20. These elevations 2| in the hearth divide the same into as many fining chambers as there are elevated portions 2|. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of one side of the annular hearth assembly 8 taken through one of the elevated portions 2| showing somewhat more clearly the difference in' heighth between the elevations 2| and the normalupper surface 20 of the hearth bottom indicating the depth to which the enamel to be ned may collect on the hearth between successive ridges 2|.

The outer wall of the hearth assembly 8 defining the flning chamber I9 is, as most clearly illustrated in Fig. 3, provided with a plurality of inspection and stirring openings 22 and drainage openings 23. The inspection and stirring openings 22 may be closed by means of removable doors such as 24 so constructed as to be readily opened to permit inspection of the bath within the ning chamber I9 and to permit a stirring thereof should the same be necessary. The drainage openings 23 have discharge spouts 25 associated therewith and such openings are normally closed by means of' a ball of clay which, as is well known to those familiar with the art, is broken and removed when it is desired to draw ofi' the contents of the ning chamber and re- Aor roof 26 is likewise preferably annular in form and extends into close proximity with the upper surface of the hearth assembly so as to eiec; tively cover and seal the same. In order to insure a substantially perfect seal between the stationary roof or arch 26 and the rotatable hearth assembly 8, the vertically disposed baffles such as 28 respectively annular in form and arranged exteriorly and interiorly of the annular roof or arch 26 and carried thereby, extend. into annular troughs 29v and 30, `respectively,

which carry sand to provide the conventional sand seal.

The stationary suspended arch or'roof 26 is at diametrically opposite points provided with openings 3| and 32, respectively leading to a vstack or flue 33 and the discharge opening 34 of the melting chamber I. The stack 33 and the melting chamber may be conveniently stationarily supported above the rotatable hearth assembly 8 by means of beams such as 35.

Mounted on the foundation 4 and substantially concentric with the axis of the shaft I3 is an annular water tank 33 which is substantially U- shaped in cross-section, the upper edges of such tank providing a track-way upon which may be movably supported baskets 31. The baskets 31 or more particularly the framework upon which such baskets rests and by which the same are carried around, are secured to the sub-structure of the hearth assembly 8 by any suitable means such as brackets 38. Asthe hearth assembly I is rotated, therefore, the baskets 31 which are preferably respectively positioned underneath the respective vdischarge spouts 25, are carried around with the hearth assembly in the water bath contained in the annular tank 30.

'Ihe operation of the'above described form of apparatus is briefly as follows: The porcelain enamel material is, as previously indicated, first melted in any suitable form of continuous melting apparatus, generally indicated at I, from which the molten material flows in a substantially continuous stream through the discharge opening 3l.

By having reference to Fig. 3 the relative positions of the stack and feeding openings 3|y and 32 respectively with respect to the bottom of the ning chamber in the hearth assembly 8 is most clearly shown.

Let it be assumed that the hearth assembly l 'is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, as

viewed in Fig. 3, i. e., inthe direction of the arrow in the top of such figure. When the parts are thus positioned, the section of the hearth occupying the second quadrant will be receiving raw melted enamel from the opening 32. The section of the hearth bottom between the walls 2| in the first quadrant has just been filled with melted enamel. The material on the hearth bottom section in the fourth' quadrant is in the course vof lining and the charge on the hearth bottom in the third quadrant is in the course of being drawn oil through the discharge opening 23 into the basket 31.

By a proper regulation of the rate of feed through the opening 32 with respect to the quantity of material which may be supported in any one of the units between adjacent partitions 2l and with respect to the speed of rotation of the hearth assembly 8, the enamel bath supported in any one section of the hearth may be permitted to line for any desired length of time.

In Fig. 5 there is shown a diagrammatic representation of one cycle of operation of the previously described apparatus indicating in minutes the elapsed times for the various stages oi.' the process which has been by actual operation determined to produce satisfactory results. The showing in Fig. 5 is based upon a four compartment ning chamber similar to that illustrated in Fig. 3 which is rotated so as to make one complete revolution in two hours and five minutes, i. e., minutes. When the fining hearth is rotated at` this speed and four compartments are provided in the hearth, then the charging time for any particular compartment is 31.25 minutes, i. e., one fourth of the total time required for one complete revolution of the hearth.

Actual operation of apparatus of the general character described has demonstrated that approximately`18.75 minutes is required in the removal of the discharge from the lining chamber and to place such ilning chamber in condition ,to receive a new charge. These 13.75 minutes are consumed by first removing the plug from the discharge opening', then draining the charge from the ning chamber into the basket such .as

31 and inally replacing a new clay plug in the discharge opening of the ning chamber so that when such chamber is moved into charging position underneath the opening 32, the fresh charge may be retained therein. This leaves approximately 75 minutes in which the material in the flning bath is permitted to soak in order to eliminate the seeds therefrom. It is to` be understood, of course, that in order to insure a proper homogeneous dispersion of the opacifying ingredients through the enamel bath. such bath may be stirred frequently, i. e., about every 15 minutes during the soaking period, i. e.. while the bath is supported on vthe ning chamber hearth between ridges 2| and while the same moves from the discharge opening around to the station of discharge. l

Numerous practical considerations which need not be mentioned at this point have resulted in a determination that the four compartment hearth, as shown in the drawings', is preferred. For different speeds of operation of the hearth, different diameters of the hearth and variations in the type of material to be fined will undoubtedly result in more eiiicient operation if a hearth having a larger or smaller number of compartments is employed. For example, if a six compartment hearth is employed, and the speed of rotation retained the same as above given, i. e., one revolution in the 125 minutes, the charging time will be reduced from 31.25 to approximately 20 minutes and since the time required to discharge remains substantially constant, the actualA ning time would be increased by approximately 11 minutes to 86 minutes.

4It should be kept in mind, of course, that as soon as the molten material begins to run into the fining chamber a lning action begins to take place. The actual time in which lning takes place is, therefore, considerably longer than the 75 minutes indicated on Fig. 5 when apparatus such as is illustrated for purposes of convenience is employed.

The speed of rotation, as well as the other factors which determine the duration of the various stages of the process may, of course, as previously indicated, vary with different types of material. The foregoing gures have been found to give best results when the material being operated upon is commercial porcelain enamel requiring what is believed to bean average length of time.

in the flning chamber in order to produce a uniform product.

It has been previously indicated that the fining chambers which have been commonly 'used in the manufacture of clear glass are not suited for use in the manufacture of porcelain enamel. Heretofore, the fining chambers which have been used for porcelain enamel manufacture have not been commercially practicable for the manufacture-of clear glass, due to the fact that they have not been capable of operating on a continuous basis. The apparatus comprising this invention which makes possible the substantially continuous lining of the melting of porcelain enamel material makes possible for the first time the use in the clear glass industry of apparatus for fining which is also suited for use in the porcelain enamel field.

It has been found that the temperature at which the molten material should be maintained during the fining stage should, for best results, be between 1750 F. and 2000" F. The manner in which this temperature may be maintained inv the apparatus which has been described will vary .15

-ing chamber leads into the ning chamber. It is contemplated that the apparatus herein described may be successfully operated by causing the gases from the melting chamber I to pass downwardly through the opening 32, thence to be divided to flow around opposite sides of the lining chamber to be discharged through the stack opening 3|,l

thus maintaining a substantially even distribution of burning or burnt gases over the surface of the ning chamber hearth, i. e., the bath therein, to maintain the same at the proper temperature.

, For certain purposes it may be impossible or impractical to properly maintain the temperature in the I'lning chamber by the sole use of the gases discharged from the melting chamber I; in which case, it is within the contemplation of our invention to provide one or more booster burners projecting downwardly through the suspended arch or roof 26 Lto project a ame into the ning chamber. When such booster burners are employed, they will preferably be arranged so that the ilame projected thereby will not impinge directly upon the bath of enamel material being red but instead, will project on a rather flat incline so as to pass over the bath of material in the lining chamber.

`The molten material after having been properly ilned in the manner above described is, as previously indicated, drawn off through the discharge openings 23 and permitted to run down the spout 25A to be discharged into the basket 31 which is partially immersed in water. After a charge is collected by the basket 31 it may be lifted out of the trough 3B and dumped of its chargeur a new basket introduced in Aits place.

Ihe size of the baskets 31 should be such as to be capable of receiving at least one charge of melted material from the ning chamber, i. e., the amount of material which will be contained on the hearth bottom between adjacent ridges 2|. After the enamel has been thus fritten in the basket 31, such basket may be lifted out, which action is facilitated by providing a hinge in the trough 25 so that the latter may fold out of the way.

In Figure.4, there is illustrated a modified form of apparatus constructed in accordance with cera tain of the principles previously defined, such apparatus comprising the usual melting chamber la, provided with a discharge opening 34a, beneathwhich there is positioned a shuttle car 38 which is .centrally provided with a partition 39 dividing the body of the cart into two adjacent ning chambers. The arch 40 associated with the bottom of the melting chamber la serves as a closure for the cart 38 and the terminal portions of such arch 40 extend, as at 4|,V downwardly into close proximity to the edges 42 of the cart and are of suiiicient Width so that the cart may be moved from the full line to the dotted line position illustrated at 43 without the arch 40 uncovering the flning chambers in the cart 38. A suitable track such as 44 may, of course, be provided for the support of the cart 38 and stops 45 at opposite ends of such track eliminate the movement of the cart 38 to such an extent so that the central bridge wall 39 will lie on opposite sides of the discharge opening 34a asvthe cart isrespectively at opposite ends of the track l44.

Suitable drainage openings may, of course, be provided in conjunctior` with each of the compartments inthe cart 38 so as to make possible the withdrawal from such compartments Vof the charge of raw or melted material contained therein.

The principal advantage of the apparatus previously illustrated and described in Figs.V 1 to 3 is that the melted material, when ultimately discharged into the fritting basket, has had an opportunity to soak for an appreciable length of time without any possibility of contamination by material which has just beendischarged from the melting chamber. This 4insures that only such material as has been properly ned will be permitted to be discharged.. The apparatus comprising our invention is, Itherefore, capable of carrying on the process comprising our invention which comprises the continuous melting of the raw materials which comprise the nished prod- I uct and a continuous iinin'g of such melted raw materials without any possibility of contamination of material prior to its discharge which has either been completely or partially refined by raw material which has just been discharged from the melting chamber.

Other modes of applying the principle of our invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the means and the steps herein disclosed, provided those stated by any of the following claims or their equivalent bev employed.

`We, therefore, particularly point out and distinctly claim as our invention:l

l.. In apparatus for the refining of a continuous stream of melted porcelain enamel material, glass and the like which comprises the combination of means for discharging a continuous stream of melted material, an annular fining chamber divided into a plurality of independent sections, means for moving said fining chamber relatively to said stream of melted material to successively fill different compartments of said iining chamber, and a water bath around said i'lning chamber into which the contents of said compartment may be successively discharged.

2. In apparatus for the refining of a continuous stream of melted-porcelain enamel material, glass and the like `which comprises the combination of means for discharging a continuous stream of melted material, an annular ning chamber divided into a plurality of independent sections,

means for moving said fining chamber relatively to said stream of melted material to successively ll different compartments of said ning chamber, an annular Water bath associated with said flning chamber, and a perforate basket in said water bath for the reception of fined material discharged from said compartments.

3. In apparatus of the character described, the combination of means for discharging a continuous stream of melted material, an annular iin- .ing chamber divided into a plurality of compart- 4. In apparatus for the refining of melted porcelain enamel material, the combination with means from which the unrenedV material isl discharged in melted form, of a rotatable table provided with a segmentally divided annular ,lining chamber, said table so positioned that lthe said unreflned material iiows into-said annular lining chamber, means for relatively rotating said table and said means supplying said unrened material,

said table provided at eireumferentially spaced parts with means for separately drawing of! the material in the respective sections of said nning chamber, and a water bath so arranged with respect to said table that the refined material dntln oit from said table falls into said water ba f GLENN H. McINTYRE. GEORGE R. 

